MockQuestions

IKEA Mock Interview

To help you prepare for an IKEA job interview, here are 40 interview questions and answer examples.

IKEA was updated by on June 12th, 2023. Learn more here.

Question 1 of 40

Tell me about yourself.

This introductory interview question aims to get you to relax so your interviewer can get a glimpse of your personality. This will help them guide your interview and learn how well your personality might fit their teams and culture. It is also your chance to deliver a strong first impression by offering a clear and succinct bio and explaining what drew you to apply to this position. You've no doubt customized your cover letter and resume to IKEA, but don't stop there. Keep learning all you can about IKEA and customize your five-year career plan as well. Familiarize yourself with their recruitment process, and learn as much about the company as you can.

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40 IKEA Interview Questions & Answers

Below is a list of our IKEA interview questions. Click on any interview question to view our answer advice and answer examples. You may view six answer examples before our paywall loads. Afterwards, you'll be asked to upgrade to view the rest of our answers.

IKEA has a strong brand and a unique reputation. Their approach is very customer-centric, casual, no-nonsense, and very friendly. Anyone they hire has to fit a particular mold. They have to be approachable, knowledgeable, and passionate about their products. They also need to go the distance when making the customer experience as accommodating as possible.

IKEA offers to hand-pick items for customers to take home, to have delivered for them, or to have assembled for them, and they have an incredibly flexible return policy. So, they expect their employees to happily accommodate their customer’s every need through service and product knowledge. This means that whomever they hire to happily deliver such an experience should be happy working with them and feel at home while doing it.

Additionally, they offer very generous benefits and competitive pay. However, they expect a certain degree of flexibility from their employees, especially concerning their availability and work schedules. Their staff may not have a consistent schedule or consistent days. They’ll also be expected to wear their uniform when on the job. However, IKEA's uniform is far more casual than most other retailers.

They also emphasize building a community and a sense of togetherness. They foster a collaborative and supportive environment, where their employees often attest to regarding each other as family. When their employees feel at home, their customers feel at home, too.

  • Accomplishment

    1. Tell me about yourself.

  • Adaptability

    2. Is there anything that would hinder you from wearing a uniform to work?

  • Adaptability

    3. What is your availability? This position requires a flexible schedule as we rotate shifts and need coverage on evenings, weekends, and most holidays.

  • Adaptability

    4. What would you do if your co-worker did not show up for their shift?

  • Behavioral

    5. What would you do if you discovered a co-worker was stealing from the company?

  • Behavioral

    6. How would you describe your personality?

  • Capability

    7. In this role, you may be required to handle customer transactions. How strong are your mathematical skills?

  • Career Goals

    8. What does your future with IKEA look like?

  • Career Goals

    9. How can IKEA motivate you on the job?

  • Career Goals

    10. Why does this job with IKEA feel right for you at this time in your career?

  • Career Goals

    11. How do you like to be recognized for your accomplishments?

  • Communication

    12. What would you do if your supervisor did not properly communicate information to you?

  • Compatibility

    13. IKEA has a unique set of company values that define the way they do business at every level of their organization. Which of IKEA's key values stand out to you?

  • Compatibility

    14. IKEA's vision is 'To create a better everyday life for the many.' How do you plan to adopt this vision as your own as an IKEA coworker?

  • Compatibility

    15. What makes you different from the other people we may be interviewing?

  • Compatibility

    16. What three qualities make you a strong fit for this position with IKEA?

  • Compatibility

    17. What is your experience as a shopper at IKEA?

  • Compatibility

    18. What type of work environment do you dislike working in?

  • Competency

    19. What do you think about IKEA's commitment to Democratic Design?

  • Competency

    20. IKEA is intentional about being a great place to work. What stands out to you about what makes IKEA different from other retail environments?

  • Conflict

    21. How would you handle a customer who is aggressive towards you or a co-worker?

  • Creative Thinking

    22. Tell me about a time you thought of a better way to get something done.

  • Customer Service

    23. What does your brand of customer service look like?

  • Diligence

    24. We need reliable people on our team at IKEA. How many days were you absent from work last year?

  • Direct

    25. How do you handle situations that could cause you to be late or miss work?

  • Discovery

    26. What's your favorite food?

  • Discovery

    27. Do you have reliable transportation?

  • Diversity

    28. At IKEA, we value diversity, inclusion, and equality. What makes IKEA stand out to you as a great place to work?

  • EQ

    29. When was the last time you failed at something?

  • EQ

    30. How do you maintain a balance between your work life and home life?

  • Experience

    31. Depending on the position, retail experience is preferred but not essential. Do you have any retail or sales experience?

  • Leadership

    32. How would you describe your style of leadership?

  • Leadership

    33. At IKEA, we firmly believe in grooming our employees into management roles as they show potential. Are you interested in pursuing a leadership role with us?

  • Management

    34. What type of manager brings out the best in you?

  • Performance Based

    35. Tell me about the last time you realized you'd taken on too many responsibilities.

  • Performance Based

    36. Give me an example of a time you went above and beyond.

  • Problem Solving

    37. At IKEA, 'We Love Challenges' because they push us to achieve more. What challenges or problems have you encountered and solved at work?

  • Salary

    38. What kind of salary are you aiming for?

  • Teamwork

    39. What is the most competitive work situation you have experienced? How did you handle it? What was the result?

  • Teamwork

    40. When onboarding in a new job, how do you earn the trust of your teams?

  • Questions to Ask Your IKEA Interviewer

    As they advise on their website, “The interview process is not just about us getting to know you; it’s about you getting to know us. So feel free to ask anything you’re wondering about. Training, opportunities, career development, or perhaps why your interviewer started at IKEA or what they like or don’t like about work. It’s all good.” This is good advice, and by following it, you’ll likely be telling them more about you, your work ethic, and what they can expect from you as an employee.

    On their website, they acknowledge that “many of our jobs are quite popular.” This is likely due to being such a widely recognized brand and an award-winning place to work. Typically, for such brands, those they hire are well versed in that brand and everything they do, are invested in the opportunity, and already feel a sense of belonging.

    IKEA is a values-driven company. Their culture is built upon their values, and those values guide and define their brand. They expect every employee to embody their brand. Several of their questions will be aimed at determining the values of each candidate and whether they’re aligned with their own. Therefore, asking some questions in the interview to further familiarize yourself with their brand could serve you well in your interview.

    The questions you ask will reveal how familiar you are with IKEA and how thoroughly you’ve prepared for the interview. For example, if you ask a question that is answered on the webpage that serves as a step-by-step guide to IKEA’s recruitment process, you’ll reveal that you didn’t prepare as well as you could have and are asking them a question you could have answered yourself. They’ll look at this as an example of your work ethic.

    When choosing your questions, phrase them in a way that indicates that you've researched and invested time and effort in this opportunity. Think of it as you trying to determine how aligned their values are with yours. Here are some examples of well-formulated questions to ask in an IKEA interview:

    “I saw on your website that you give your employees a degree of flexibility in helping customers and ensuring their experience is a positive one. This no-nonsense bureaucracy-free approach to delivering a good customer service experience aligns with my values and is one of the things that attracted me to this role. But the information online is a bit limited, and I’d like to learn more. For example, your return policy is clear and pretty generous compared to other companies. So, let’s say a customer brings in a dusty box that’s been sitting in their garage for a while, and it’s clear the product has never really been used. They don’t have their receipt because it’s been six months since they realized the desk they started to assemble was too big for their space, and they’re only now getting around to returning it. I’d be inclined to make an exception and allow them to exchange the product or offer store credit without the receipt. Even though this goes against our policy, would I be permitted to make such a judgment call?”

    “I have worked in environments where the schedule can be all over the place. I am curious to learn more about how unpredictable and rigid the schedule is here. For example, I saw that IKEA offers generous paid time off/holiday programs granting between 24 to 34 days a year. However, I have also worked for companies that have made it difficult to schedule time off due to staffing concerns, a tightly written schedule, or too many people requesting time off at the same time. I’ve found that kind of competition for time off can be a detriment to the team, especially when you’re being asked left and right to switch your schedule with others so that someone can get the time off they desire, further complicating an already complicated work week.”

    “I’ve done some reading on the IKEA effect - that customers are typically willing to pay nearly sixty-five percent more for furniture they’ll have assembled themselves, giving them a sense of pride and ownership. Was this part of the business model, even though IKEA is known for keeping their prices low?”

    “How frequently do customers order delivery and ask to have someone assemble their furniture for them?”

    “How often do customers complain about being confused by the assembly instructions for their furniture items? Is there a common or recommended, approach to this type of complaint?”

    IKEA's Company Culture

    Ingvar Kamprad grew up during the Great Depression. Coming from such humble roots, he based his entrepreneurial spirit on the principle that you should be thrifty to make ends meet. Wanting to help his small community and nearby village during those challenging times, he offered low prices while still trying to make a profit for his family. He later founded IKEA on these principles and proclaimed that you have to be innovative, creative, strong, and stubborn to succeed.

    Being smart with resources and intolerant of waste, he decided to market his products to frugal and practical people, and offer something of value “to the people of the countryside to create a better everyday life for the many people.” Eventually, expanding beyond the borders of Sweden, he came to change millions of lives worldwide with his offerings, never losing sight of that approach and philosophy, and continues to offer high-quality products at low prices to this day.

    But this philosophy isn’t limited to furniture. IKEA is also very food-centric and focuses on offering healthy, natural, and more sustainable food at low prices. They even have a set of food principles, first focused on portions, “Not too much, not too little, but just right.” Their food principles address sustainability for people and planet, more plant-based options, and better animal welfare. They emphasize simple and wholesome natural ingredients, are anti-food waste, and end their principles with food being a source of pleasure, “together we eat better.” They believe in working for the betterment of their community and creating a better everyday life for the many people.

    IKEA also wants its employees to bring their unique selves to work. They strive to make their employees and customers feel at home in their stores. This includes casual, functional, no-nonsense uniforms and a casual community approach to customer service. They empower employees to customize every customer service experience until it is just right.

    They also foster an atmosphere that differs from other furniture stores. They hope their customers will experience the functionality of their furniture and fixtures in applicable settings while experiencing the no-nonsense functionality of their products firsthand. This also applies to their food; you can try most of their food offerings in their restaurant.

    So their business philosophy is based on building and contributing to their community. As Ingvar Kamprad once said, “IKEA is not the work of one person alone. It is the result of many minds and many souls working together through many years of joy and hard work.”

    About the Author

    Getting hired for a job is never a case of the luck of the draw. If you go into an interview unprepared, you’ll know it, and you won’t fool yourself or your interviewer into thinking otherwise. If you lack the confidence to win that job, it will show, and your interviewer will probably assume you're not interested in working there long term.

    If you apply for a job you don’t want, and they hire you anyway, think about what that work environment looks like. You’ll be working with several people who don’t want to work there and will probably underperform. So make sure the job feels like the right fit for you. Pursue it. Justify putting in the effort to win it, and you’ll at least be in the running. If you don’t get hired, learn from your mistakes and try again until you succeed.

    I started my management career working for a retail company with an award-winning brand that took an unconventional approach to everything they did. Other retailers would try to figure out our secret formula. Yet, it wasn’t one single thing or something you could hack. It was a philosophy and a way of being. It was a casual place to work with casual, comfortable uniforms and a sense of belonging for employees and customers alike. We valued integrity and stood behind everything we did. It was also a fun place to work and a fun place to shop. I received a lot of applications and resumes since it was also such a popular place to work.

    So when weeding out who I should and shouldn’t interview, I looked for consistency. If there were inconsistencies on a resume, I wouldn’t interview them. For example, if someone bullet pointed their skills, and half of the bullet points they closed out with a period, and the other half had no punctuation, I figured that person’s work ethic would likely lack attention to detail, not be thorough, and their performance would likewise be inconsistent. The same goes for the answers they might deliver in an interview.

    I’d often ask a candidate what their availability looked like, and if they were willing to work nights. I remember one candidate who told me their availability was wide open. Later, when I asked about their hobbies, they told me they performed in a rock band five nights a week and invited me to come and see them play. With that offer, they told me I shouldn’t hire them because they lied about their open availability and didn’t catch that they’d contradicted their previous answers.

    Anytime I interviewed a candidate, I looked for a specific personality. Those I hired were down to earth, had a positive energy, had integrity, seemed on the same page, and answered every question perfectly. In other words, they got it. These were the candidates I knew right away I was going to hire. More often than not, I knew as soon as they turned in their resume or application, or ideally both. They had the confidence that comes with being in their element. They already felt like they belonged there, and I looked at them and knew they belonged… a person who could do the job right and interact with our customers our way. They embodied our values and seemed at home in our environment.

    So when preparing for your next job, go the extra mile. If you want to work there, make it happen. Put your all in. When you do this, you’ll go into your interview with confidence, and your interviewer will know right away that yours is going to be a good interview.

    Learn more about Kevin Downey